Shadow of Sorcery
by Cherry Blossom Wings
Summary: AU. The kingdom of Edo has enjoyed many years of hard won peace after the Great Wars. But when a terrible betrayal tears the royal family apart and threatens the safety of the people, it will be up to Kaoru and Yahiko to save them by walking willingly into the jaws of the Dragon- with no guarantee of survival.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello dear readers! Welcome to the world of my wild and completely unreal stories, which have been created for the sole purpose of putting the characters of Rurouni Kenshin in situations which force Kenshin to be as kick-ass as possible. Though if these stories entertain my lovely fellow fanfiction readers, then that's cool too….I suppose. **

**Disclaimer: The characters of Rurouni Kenshin are the sole property of the godlike Nobuhiro Watsuki-sama and Sony Entertainment….because if they belonged to me, I'd be charging you to read this.**

**Just kidding.**

Chapter 1- Escape

_Chaos. Explosions. Carnage._

_Death._

_Glowing amber eyes stared unblinkingly at the moonlit valley, even as his mind wandered far away to a blood soaked battlefield. That had been his last great battle, and the Dragon had been asleep for nearly a decade now. But the winds from the south whispered of dangers yet to come, of evil that threatened to take over the landscape and change the face of the world. The seeker would come to him soon to call him out on his final oath, he was sure of it. It was only a matter of time now; he felt it in the blazing, sword-sharp fire of his soul._

_It was time for the Dragon to awaken._

A soft breeze blew through the air and fluttered the curtains of Kaoru's bedroom, causing her to stir fitfully in her sleep. It had been an unusually hot and humid week, like the heat before the first summer storms, and everyone had been especially restless. Kaoru's eyes snapped open, and she sighed. The hot and stormy weather of the past week, coupled with the stress of dealing with her overbearing cousins at the ball, having to constantly remember to act like a princess and Yahiko's increasingly frequent temper tantrums, made her feel too keyed up to sleep. She would really have to pay a visit to the arena soon. Maybe if she was lucky, she'd be able to get in a spar with Misao. She pushed the covers off and slid out of bed, pulling the coverlet around her. She walked to the closet and quickly pulled out her training clothes, the ones she kept hidden from Tae. She slipped them on, laced her boots and slid her beloved sword into her belt. Creeping forward on cat feet, she slowly opened the door and looked around, hoping that the guard outside her door would be sympathetic to her nighttime exploits. Someone like Hayao, or even Katsu.

The hallway was empty.

_That's funny. Someone should have been here by now- I went to bed hours ago. Even Yahiko's guard is missing. Where is everyone? _Come to think of it, she couldn't even see the sentries who usually stood at the gate. There were no lamps, no fires and even the mage lights that illuminated the castle with the King's power seem to have flickered out. _Wait- what? Why aren't the mage lights burning? That shouldn't happen unless…unless…_the realization hit her with the force of a hammer blow.

_DAD!_

If the King was sick or in danger, she had to go check on him. But first, she had to wake up her stubborn little brother. Trying her best to stick to the shadows, she crept to his bedroom and slowly opened the door-only for a small figure to come lunging at her with an ironwood staff. Only reflexes born of years and years of grueling practice saved her from getting brained in the head.

"I'll kill you!"

She snapped her hand out and grabbed her assailant by the wrist. "Calm down, Yahiko, you _idiot_! It's just me!"

"Get _off_ me you- oh. It's just you, ugly."

She resisted the urge to smack him upside the head. "_Yes, _it's me. Something's wrong with Dad. I need you to get dressed and come with me. And keep the staff close."

For once, he listened to her. They crept silently along the corridors and made their way to the king's quarters. As they got closer, the sense of danger, the feeling of something fundamentally _wrong _that permeated the air, intensified. The air crackled with mage power, twisted and evil and immensely powerful. Kaoru drew her power around herself and her brother, cloaking their presence (hopefully) from whatever that was in there. Slowly she opened the door to her father's room and stepped in-only to nearly slip in a pool of dark liquid that seeped slowly across the floor.

The floor was _littered _with bodies.

Six men of the King's elite guard lay on the floor, torn to pieces as if by some savage animal. His personal aide, Katsura, was torn in half near the edge of the bed. Of the king himself, there was no sign. The drapes of his huge bed were shut, obscuring the person within.

Kaoru was vaguely aware of Yahiko trembling behind her- but only vaguely. Her brain was in complete chaos, unable to process the horror of what she was witnessing, because this was not possible, it just _wasn't_, who could possibly _do _such a thing-

And then she saw them- Enishi and Tomoe.

Tomoe stood in the center of the room, her arms raised as dark, oily tendrils of magic swirled around her, casting her elegant features into sickly shadows. Enishi stood next to her, his sword dripping the same dark fluid that coated the floor of the room. Neither of them had paid any attention to the newcomers, and Kaoru began inching towards the bed, keeping a firm hold on Yahiko's trembling shoulders. Somewhere in a small part of her brain that hadn't completely surrendered to blind panic, she felt a touch of pride for his courage in the face of this, this _abattoir_.

_Almost there….almost…_

"Hello, dear cousin."

_Shit._

**Please read and review….de gozaru.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: And here's the second chapter. I have no clue how long this story's going to be, since I'm just sort of winging it here. And fear not. Kenshin will be here….soon. **

**Disclaimer: Refer to Chapter 1.**

**Warning: A tiny bit of swearing. **

Chapter 2- Escape: Part II

Saitou Hajime had always had a great deal of faith in his ability to deal with any situation, no matter how chaotic. As the Captain-General of the King's Guard and one of the foremost warriors in the kingdom, he had to be ready to swing into action at a moment's notice, a skill essential to survival.

Nothing could have prepared him for what he heard that night.

He was jolted out of bed at fifteen minutes to midnight by a loud banging at the door. Tokio, pregnant with their second child, murmured sleepily at his side and rolled over quietly. He quickly pulled on his coat and opened the door to find a panicked junior guard looking like he'd just seen Death- which, considering Saitou's infamous temper, wasn't completely inaccurate.

"This had better be a matter of life and death."

The guard blanched. "My lord…it's the King. He- The mage lights- they've gone out, my lord. And the King's Guard on duty today….we've lost their life force signatures. They're all dead. The prince and princess need to be escorted out now and I was sent to get you. Please, hurry my lord!"

Saitou's mind reeled. He had never had much patience for the King's wishy-washy way of dealing with mages and their powers and his idea that such dangerous power could be used to _protect-_ but he respected him; as a friend, as a fellow warrior and as a king. He certainly wasn't about to let him _die_. He turned to the guard. "Bring me my horse. We'll be at the palace in five minutes. Call the warrior mages and the Oniwabanshuu. Our first priority is the safety of the royal family. After that- we will find the bastards who did this."

And Kami help them when he did.

Kaoru stood frozen to her spot near the King's bed as Enishi slowly stalked towards her. Tomoe hadn't even paused in her chanting, and Kaoru could feel the power in the room building, filling the space with evil, malicious intent. Behind her, Yahiko tensed and gripped his staff tightly, looking like he didn't know whether to cry or throw his staff at Enishi. None of their training in magic or combat had ever prepared them for something like this. But Kaoru had learnt a few tricks from the Oniwabanshuu that princesses weren't really supposed to know. _Step one- stall for time_.

"What have you done to my father?"

Enishi laughed, a chilling, manic sound that managed to be more terrifying than his anger. "Oh don't worry, cousin. Your father isn't in danger. We are merely relieving him of the burden of his soul. He won't live long enough to suffer….I think."

The full import of what he meant crashed into Kaoru like a tidal wave. Soul magic was an extremely ancient and dangerous form of black magic, which sucked the life force and soul from one body and used the energy generated to fuel the mage power of the caster. It was the kind of magic that had been practiced and propagated by the Necromancer- and which had been outlawed since the Great Wars. If Tomoe was using soul magic on her father, there was no way she could still save him- not without creating a magical backlash that might kill everyone in the room. She was going to have to choose between the lives of the two most important people in her life- her father and Yahiko.

She hated herself for it.

Enishi was still looking at them with an amused expression on his face, like he was daring her to act. She felt the urge to smash her fist in his face, but controlled herself. Her first priority was getting herself and Yahiko out of there. She mentally ran through her options; she still had her sword, and she wasn't without magical powers of her own. If worst came to worst, she could use a transportation spell to get them both out of there. It would seriously deplete her magical reserves and leave her completely vulnerable to any attack, but she was running out of options. As of now, she still had a chance as long as she kept Enishi distracted. _Step two- appear vulnerable_.

"What do you plan to do to us?"

"Fear not Kaoru. We don't plan to kill you just yet. The people love their princess, so I'm sure they wouldn't mind if we got you married to some minor lord and crowned you as Queen. Not that you would have any power of course; I rather like the idea of a puppet sovereign. It will only be for a short while though; we don't want people getting any funny ideas about rebellion and all that." His smile took on a crazed look. "Besides, soon we will be ruled by one whose power cannot be matched by anyone else- and the people will have no choice but to bow before his greatness. Until then, cousin-you will live."

_Step three- Lure him in. _She tried her best to look suitably terrified instead of furious. "What about my brother, Lord Enishi?" She stepped forward. "He has done nothing to you and he is too young to be a threat. Will you not spare him?" _Come closer, you fool. I'll show you power. _She had detected Captain-General Saitou's _ki_ a while ago. He was steadily moving towards her location, and if she played her cards right, she wouldn't have to worry about using her powers. Both Enishi and Tomoe were stronger than her by far. She had only recently come into her magical powers, and Enishi had been training in combat magic since childhood. As he walked towards her, she curled her fingers around the hilt of her sword. He seemed to be examining Yahiko like an ornamental display, sizing him up. Yahiko had not said a word throughout their exchange, but he suddenly lost control.

"I'm not going anywhere, you bastard! I won't leave Kaoru! You can't make me!"

Enishi shook his head. "I can do whatever I like, Yahiko-chan. I could kill you right now, and neither you nor your sister would be able to lift a finger against me. In fact, I think I-"

_Step four- move in for the kill._

Quicker than thought, she slammed the hilt of her sword into Enishi's jaw, forcing him to stumble back with a cry of pain and outrage. Taking advantage of his distraction, she grabbed Yahiko and dove behind the bedpost, using the heavy drapes as cover.

"You bitch! How dare you! I will make you suffer!"

Just as he took one step towards them, the doors to the room burst open and the remaining King's guard ran in, their weapons pointed towards Enishi and Tomoe. They were followed by three familiar figures. The first person stood tall with a cigar in his mouth, his wolf-yellow eyes gleaming in the firelight. The second was an equally tall shadow who moved towards them like liquid moonlight. And the third and smallest figure ran towards them on cat feet, her long braid swinging behind her.

_Saitou, Aoshi…..and Misao!_

Misao's eyes were wide and frantic with worry. "Kamisama! Kaoru, Yahiko-kun…thank goodness you're alright! Get up, we have to get you out of here! Aoshi-sama and the others will buy us some time. Come on!"

Yahiko's eyes were filled with pain. "They've killed our father, Misao! We can't just…just _leave _him here! He deserves a proper burial, and….honor and…"

Kaoru cupped his face in her hands. "Yahiko. There's nothing we can do for him now. If we stay, we all die. But if we leave….we can get help, brother. And we will make them pay." _Trust me. I can't lose you too._

He bit his lip and nodded. Misao sighed with relief, and then pointed to a lamp burning in a bracket above the window. "Kaoru. You see that lamp? Grab hold of the handle and pull. There's a secret passage that leads to the stables. You will meet Katsu there and he will tell you where to go. I will be right behind you. Run!"

At that moment, a blast of mage power shook the room, causing Kaoru to stumble. She wasn't sure who had cast the spell, but combined with the sound of swords clashing, it was at least keeping Enishi occupied. She took Yahiko's hand, pulled the handle and plunged into the darkness. The tunnel walls were made of smooth stone lit at regular intervals by small bubble lamps. Her pounding footsteps echoed along the floor, but her frantic heartbeat seemed far louder in her ears. Behind her Yahiko's breath came in gasps and hitched sobs. They flew down the tunnel and burst into the stables, Misao at their heels. The stable was full of frantic activity- soldiers ran around tacking horses and retrieving hidden weapons. Even the horses were skittish, as if they felt the danger in the air. Kaoru barely had time to glance around when she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Katsu looking at her with a grim expression. "My lady, you and Lord Yahiko must hurry. We are sending you to Lord Okina at the Mage Temple. The palace is not safe for you anymore." Kaoru nodded. She felt terrible about abandoning everyone at the palace, but she had to believe that Saitou and Aoshi would defeat her cousins. Even Yahiko was too drained to argue. So she let them hoist her up on to a large bay stallion and lead her out through the rear gate of the palace. The whole area was completely deserted. Katsu mounted another horse and pulled Yahiko up behind him. Misao patted Kaoru's leg and smiled. "Don't worry about any of us, my lady. We will be fine. As long as the two of you are alive- we still have hope." She smacked the horse on the rump and stepped back with a small wave. Then she turned and was gone.

As they rode to safety, Kaoru looked back at the palace, her home, which now held the body of her father and the sacrifices of her friends. _I will come back. I swear. I won't let your efforts be in vain. Goodbye….Father._

As she looked ahead, she finally allowed her tears to fall.

**Review replies:**

**Compucles: Yeah, sorry about the length. I don't really plan how long my chapters are going to be; I just write them till it feels right, and then I stop. I know where this story's headed- I'll make it interesting, I promise. This chapter is longer, though! Thanks for the review!**

**Jasmine blossom625: I'm glad you like it! And it's only going to get better….Kenshin'll be here! *fangirl squeal* Keep up the reviews please!**

**Please R&amp;R.**


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